by S. A. Moss
I swallowed. “I don’t think so. I mean, we’ve gotten to be friends, right?”
“Yeah. Friends.”
Alex’s voice dropped, and my stomach dropped right along with it. I couldn’t seem to wrench my eyes away from his, but I wasn’t sure I even wanted to. I drew in a shaky breath as my gaze slipped to his mouth again. He hadn’t shaved in a few days, and the scruff only made his lips look softer.
The silence stretched thickly, and neither of us moved. I wondered if we’d been trapped in some kind of stasis we’d never be able to pull ourselves out of.
Maybe the only way out of it is to kiss.
Just one kiss.
What on earth would it hurt? No one would even have to know. We could just—
Alex cleared his throat. “Friends. Right,” he repeated, more firmly.
Reason rushed back in like a bucket of ice water over my head. Damn it.
“Yes. Right!” I nodded too enthusiastically, my head bobbing like my neck was made of rubber. I leapt up from the couch, kicking myself internally.
Ugh, I needed a freaking chaperone around Alex.
I’d never been this googly-eyed and hormonal when I was alive, so why was I suddenly unable to control my thoughts when it came to this particular guy? Plus, we really had become friends, and I was so grateful for that. I didn’t want to risk it all in one moment of lust-induced stupidity.
Trying to clear the embarrassment from my face, I looked back down at Alex. “So, what do you say? Ready for a friendly visit to a ghost?”
13
As it turned out, finding a ghost’s residence was trickier than just looking up a house number and ringing a doorbell. Go figure.
As Alex and I slowly approached the “L” tracks that ran alongside Kenmore Avenue, I kept my eyes peeled for the telltale aura of a supernatural—since Reeva Pickett only existed in the mid-plane, that was all I expected to see of her. I didn’t want to accidentally encroach on her space until I was invited, but the trouble was, I couldn’t quite tell which part of the tracks were hers.
Graceland Cemetery occupied a large plot of land, stretching several blocks in each direction in the middle of the Uptown neighborhood. Along its east side, the Red Line barreled through at regular intervals all day and night. Alex and I picked our way along the dirt path below the tracks, trying not to look suspicious to either human or ghostly observers.
“So, what are we looking for? What exactly does a ghost den look like?” Alex asked, poking his head around a beam. The tracks loomed over our heads.
“Heck if I know. Do they build nests out of found materials, like squirrels?” I joked, then immediately raised my voice and added, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
I didn’t want to insult Reeva before I’d even gotten a chance to introduce myself. Arjun had warned us she was particular, whatever that meant, and I figured I should tread lightly.
“I’m going to fade out and see if I can find her,” I told Alex quietly. “Just follow my voice, okay? And if you need me, just give a yell and I’ll fade back in.”
He nodded, and I faded out quickly. Pearl had told me once that if she wanted to, she could let humans hear her when she was faded out, although they couldn’t see her. She’d made it sound so simple, and it was. But “simple” and “easy” are not the same thing. It was like throwing my voice into another room, and it always made me feel funny. But according to Alex, it worked. He could hear me, though only faintly—I sounded like I was on a call with bad reception, faint and slightly muffled.
“Can you hear me?” I shouted across the dimensional divide to Alex, who stood a mere few feet from me.
He craned his neck, tilting his head as he listened closely. “Uh… yeah.”
“Good! I’m going to head north!” I yelled.
“PIPE DOWN!” A new voice screeched, eclipsing my volume by several decibels.
Oh crap.
That must be the ghost I was looking for.
I spun, searching for the source of the voice. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to disturb you. I was just trying to talk to my human friend. I’m not very good at it.”
A woman stepped through one of the huge beams supporting the “L” tracks. At least, I thought she was a woman. It was a little hard to tell. She was dressed in dirty, bulky skirts and a loose blouse—but her features seemed to shift as I gazed at her, changing from moment to moment in a way that made my eyes water.
One second her eyes were blue, the next green, then brown. Her nose changed shape slightly, morphing from a petite button nose to something a little wider and rounder. Her eyebrows, mouth, cheekbones, and hair followed suit, shifting subtly from one shape and color to another. It was like staring at a reflection in an agitated pond, the true form distorted by endless ripples.
Because I couldn’t look at her without my eyes bugging out of my head, I shifted my gaze slightly, staring at the beams over her shoulder. “Are you Reeva Pickett?”
She cocked her head. “That I am. Who’s askin’?”
Her voice was accented, though I couldn’t tell if it was Cockney or Irish or some other regional dialect. And she was still speaking very loudly, making her gripe about my shouting a little ironic.
“I’m Camille Prentice,” I answered quickly. “Arjun told me to come see you.”
“Arjun!” Her shifting features lit up with delight. “What a lovely bloke he is. Has a bit of a thing for me, you know.”
I raised my eyebrows, trying to look interested rather than slightly horrified. “Oh?”
Reeva grinned. “He came to see me every day for while. Told me he’d never met anyone like me.”
Well, that I could believe.
“He spoke very highly of you,” I assured her. No harm in buttering her up. “And he said maybe you could help me. I need you to teach me how to use aether.”
Reeva stopped preening and glared at me, her expression souring. “And why would I do that?”
Ummm.
I opened my mouth, not sure what to say. Arjun had told me she wouldn’t help me unless she decided she liked me, but I had no clue how to ingratiate myself to a ghost.
Thankfully, I was given another moment to consider my answer when a train barreled by overhead. The sound was so deafening it made conversation temporarily impossible. I snapped my jaw shut, and the ghost and I regarded each other in the pause. As I slowly grew used to her shifting features, I could actually meet her gaze without my eyes watering or crossing.
Her attention flicked to Alex, who was standing off to the side, not directly under the tracks anymore. I couldn’t blame him. Although trains ran along these tracks every day without incident, standing underneath them made it easy to imagine the whole structure collapsing, crushing me under the weight of a two ton-train car.
Alex’s eyes darted around, as if he could catch a glimpse of us if he tried hard enough. I wished I could tell him where I was but didn’t dare speak to him again after Reeva’s earlier scolding.
When the train finally rumbled away, the ghost’s wavering eyes returned to me. “He yours?”
“Is he—?” I bit my lip. I still couldn’t get used to the way some supernaturals referred to humans like they were our pets or something. Our faithful, but definitely lesser, companions. “Um, no, he’s not mine. His name is Alex Knight. He’s a human I’ve been assigned to protect.”
She scrunched up her face. “Not yours?”
“Nope.”
“I want him then.”
My mouth dropped open. Oh, lord.
I was beginning to seriously regret bringing Alex along. Not that I’d had much choice.
“Um, he’s not really… up for grabs. I’m sure lots of humans wander by these tracks every day. You can have one of them.” I felt a little bad throwing some poor unsuspecting person under the bus—or tracks—like that, but over my undead body was this ghost getting her hands on Alex.
Reeva pouted. It was almost impossible to tell because of the way
her features constantly changed, but she’d probably been young when she died. Maybe late twenties?
“Don’t want another. I want him.”
I gritted my teeth. Great. This whole thing was about to go sideways before I’d even learned a single new skill. “Well, you can’t have him. Pick something else.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “I don’t like you. I liked Arjun. He was nice. Don’t like you.”
“Well, sorry. I’m not trying to be difficult, but I have a job to do—and handing Alex over to a ghost doesn’t really fall under the mandate of protecting him.”
“That’s why you won’t let me have him?”
“Well, yeah.”
Reeva smirked, her lips shifting color and shape even as they curled. “No, it’s not.”
“What?”
“You want him for yourself.”
I sputtered. “What? No! That’s not—”
“Yes. I see.” She nodded smugly. “He is yours.”
“Um, no. He’s really, really not.”
“It’s all right.” She raised her hand in a dismissive gesture, though her face fell. “I don’t take what belongs to someone else.”
I glanced over at Alex, who was now leaning against a beam, eyes still tracking back and forth. “Ugh, fine. Yes, he’s mine. He’s mine and you can’t have him.”
“Fair enough. But...” Reeva’s eyes sparked with a wicked gleam. “You could always lend him to me.”
Oh, for the love of…
This woman did not back down.
“No! I’m not going to—”
“Just a kiss!” she insisted. “Then I’ll teach you everything you want to know.”
I pursed my lips. I wasn’t sure there was any way out of this. If I wanted her to teach me, I had to give her something in return. I could fight her, but given what Arjun had said about her skills, it was doubtful I’d win.
“I’ll ask him,” I told her firmly. “But it has to be his choice. If he says no, we’re leaving.”
She shrugged confidently, and I faded back in, turning to face Alex.
He sprang away from the beam at the sight of me. “Hey, there you are! What’s going on? Did you find Reeva?”
“Yeah. I, uh… found her. And she’s agreed to train me.”
“That’s great!”
I pulled a face. “But she wants a kiss.”
Alex stopped short, raising his eyebrows. “From you?”
Twisting a lock of brown hair around my fingers, I avoided his gaze. “I don’t think I’m really her type.”
“She wants to kiss me?”
I nodded, wincing. “I told her if you said no, that would the end of it. We’ll keep looking for the demon encampment, and I’ll find some other way to learn binding.”
“But… this really is the best way to learn, isn’t it? I mean, she taught Arjun, and he told you she’s the best person to teach you.”
I shrugged. He was right, but I couldn’t bring myself to heap any more pressure on him. And truthfully, part of me didn’t want him to agree to this stupid kiss at all.
He’s not yours, Cam. No matter what you told Reeva. He can’t ever be yours.
The brutally honest voice in the back of my mind made my chest ache. But it was right. I had no claim on Alex, even if every moment I spent with him made me want him more.
“I’ll do it.” His voice was calm and firm.
My head whipped up. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. If that’s her price, then fine. Anyway, it’s just a ghost kiss. I probably won’t even feel it.”
I nodded, my insides turning to cold cement. I hated this plan. And at the moment, I kind of hated Reeva.
“Okay. Great,” I said thickly. “Just wait there then. I’ll go tell her.”
Before I could turn away, Alex caught my hand. My breath hitched as I looked up into his clear green eyes. They blazed with intensity as his grip on me tightened slightly.
“I don’t want to, Cam. I—” He cleared his throat. “There’s someone else I’d much rather kiss. But if this helps you, I’ll do it.”
Warmth unfurled in my stomach at the look in his eyes. There were a million things I wanted to say, but I was too scared to give voice to any of them. So instead, I just squeezed his hand.
“Thank you, Alex.”
Then I stepped away and faded back over. Reeva was standing where I’d left her, regarding us with interest. I marched over to her and said shortly, “He agreed. One kiss. Then you help me.”
Her undulating features lit up, and she clapped her hands. She followed me back over to Alex, who was standing stock still, arms at his sides. I stepped away, letting Reeva approach him. My chest burned with suppressed jealousy as she stepped closer to him, her head tilting from side to side as she examined him. When she rose on her tiptoes and delicately leaned in to hover her lips over his, I tried not to openly scowl.
Reeva closed her eyes as her lips brushed over Alex’s, and he jerked lightly. Even though she was in the mid-plane, he could definitely feel something.
I didn’t want to watch this, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the sight of their kiss.
Then my eyes widened. I blinked.
Holy crap.
14
Reeva’s features had stopped shifting, settling into one static visage—that of a pale-skinned woman with dark brown hair and a pixie nose. Her eyelids flew open, revealing blue irises.
Alex’s eyes widened too, and I realized that she had faded at least partway in. He could see her. He reached out, but his hands passed right through her body.
After a few beats, Reeva slowly drew her lips from his and stepped back, staring up at Alex. Her features began to shift and morph again, and Alex’s focus on her slipped as she faded from his sight.
“That was…” She trailed off, touching her mouth lightly with one hand. “Oh my. No wonder you want to keep him.”
I thought about correcting her for the millionth time about my “ownership” of Alex, but decided against it. At this point, I was all for her thinking he belonged to me, and me alone. “Uh huh. Now you’ll teach me what you know about energy manipulation, right?”
Reeva nodded slowly, still seeming a little dazed. I couldn’t blame her. The one time I’d kissed Alex, I’d felt pretty much the same way. “Yes. Always keep my promises, I do.”
“Okay, great. Um, maybe you should cover your ears or something. I’m going to tell Alex what we’re doing. It’ll be loud.”
She gave me a vague nod as she wandered in a wide circle, still feeling her lips. I had a feeling the same thing that happened to her appearance was happening in her brain, making her thoughts a constantly shifting landscape. She seemed a little loopy, and I wondered if all ghosts were like this. The mid-plane must do something strange to them.
I turned toward Alex and shouted, as quietly as I could, “It worked! Thank you. She’s going to show me how to bind!”
He grinned, gazing in the direction of my voice.
Returning my attention to Reeva, I spread my arms wide. “Okay, I’m all yours. Show me how to bind.”
The words were barely out of my mouth before a tight pressure forced my arms back down by my side, trussing me up in an invisible hold.
“That’s how,” Reeva said unhelpfully.
I grunted. “Yeah, I’m actually familiar with how it works on the receiving end. Can you teach me how to do it?”
“Right.” She flicked a hand, and the bind on me dropped away. “What can you already do?”
“With aether? Well, I can throw energy blasts and put up shields. I’ve been working on creating more concentrated blasts, shaping them into weapons.”
Reeva’s eyes glowed. “Oh! Like this. Daggers and pikes and blades.” She whipped out her hand, and a small hole appeared in a tree several yards away.
I gaped at it. “Yes, that! How do you do that? I’ve gotten my blasts to shrink down, so I can target pretty well, but I haven’t been able to make them sharp
like that.”
“Simple. You make a filter.”
I shook my head, not tracking her explanation at all. “A what?”
“Filter. You’re trying to shape the aether yourself. Don’t do that. Let aether shape aether.”
“Umm…”
At my confused expression, she shot me an exasperated look—like I was the incoherent one. Then she spoke slowly and clearly. “I throw a blast of energy. Then use aether to make a filter. The filter shapes my energy however I choose. I want an arrow? Give it a very small hole to pass through. Want a blade? Pass it through a slit.”
I raised my eyebrows. As generally loopy as Reeva was, that answer kind of made sense. Turning to face the same tree, I envisioned a screen in front of me, then envisioned a small slit in the fabric of that screen. I threw a blast of aether through it. Another small hole appeared in the tree, several inches above the first.
“Yes! Holy shit, I did it!” I beamed at Reeva.
She tsked through her teeth. “Took you too long. You must learn to do both at once. Filter and aether blast.”
Shaking out my shoulders, I tried again. This time I attempted to summon the screen in front of me and the blast of aether at the same time. Unfortunately, that was a lot harder. I was so distracted that my blast was pretty weak, and I didn’t get the filter set up in time to shape it. Instead, the aether plowed into the tree, knocking bark loose and cracking the trunk.
Shoot.
“Yeah, I see what you mean,” I acknowledged morosely. “At least I know I can do it. But I guess I’ll have to work up to using that trick in an actual fight. Unless I can do it fast, it’s not going to be much help.”
Reeva nodded sagely. “Speed is everything. Most Guardians can’t do what I can do.”
I eyed her curiously. Her shifting face wasn’t as jarring as it had been earlier, and now that I knew what her actual features looked like, I could pick them out whenever they rose to the surface. “How’d you learn how to do all this?”
She shrugged. “I was a weaver. When I died, I kept weaving. That’s all this is. Just weaving energy.”
